Thursday, July 30, 2009

I posted the recipe for Taco Soup a while back, but thought I would repeat it since I have a picture now. This would be a good one to make in the next month or so when you have the time and freeze it. Be sure to freeze in the right portion size for you and your family. Will come in handy on cool Autumn nights. It goes great with grilled cheese sandwiches.

Brown ground beef with onion in large pot, drain well. Stir in ranch dressing mix and taco seasoning mix. Add all other ingredients (don’t drain the cans); stir carefully. Cook for about 1 to 1-1/2 hours or in a slow cooker all day.

Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, place flour and seasoned salt in a large zip-top bag. Add chicken pieces to bag and shake to coat. Heat olive oil in a large sauté pan, swirling to coat. Add chicken and cook, stirring occasionally, until chicken is no longer pink. Stir capers and chicken base into chicken, cook for 2 minutes. Squeeze juice of one lemon into chicken. Stir in wine and cream. Reduce heat to low, cook 3 to 4 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until heated through. Drain pasta when done and stir into chicken mixture.

Yield: 4 servings

Okay, so I cheat and use lemon juice from one of those little plastic lemon-shaped bottles.

The Better Than Boullion chicken base is a little expensive, but you only need a little each time you use it. I promise, you'll find other uses for it, too. You can use it any time you need to make a dish more chicken-y. I use it in Chicken and Dumplings and a couple of soups that I make.

Thursday, July 23, 2009

Yesterday was my hubby's birthday. A few years ago, the first time I offered to make him a birthday cake, he requested a strawberry cake. I'd never even heard of a strawberry cake. But, I searched the internet and ran across a recipe by the Cake Mix Doctor. She adds pecans and coconut, but to simplify I leave those out. The recipe shown below is the way I make it.

And, I renamed it because I think it's really funny that a man chooses to have this pretty pink, girly cake for his birthday every year.

Time to blow out the candles, I mean candle, we don't want to burn down the house...

Lightly grease three 9-inch round cake pans with solid vegetable shortening, then dust with flour. Shake out the excess flour. Set the pans aside.

Place the cake mix, strawberry gelatin, mashed strawberries and juice, oil, milk, and eggs in a large mixing bowl and blend with an electric mixer on low speed for 1 minute. Stop the machine and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat for 2 minutes more, scraping down the sides down again if needed. The strawberries should be well blended into the batter. Divide the batter among the prepared pans and place them in the oven.

Bake the cakes until they are light brown and just starting to pull away from the sides of the pan, 28 to 32 minutes. Remove the pans from the oven and place them on wire racks to cool for 10 minutes. Run a dinner knife around the edge of each layer and invert each onto the rack, then invert again onto another rack so that the cakes are right side up. Allow them to cool completely, 30 minutes or more.

Meanwhile, prepare the frosting.To assemble, place one cake layer, right side up, on a serving platter. Spread the top with frosting. Add another cake layer, right side up, and frost the top. Repeat this process with the third layer and frost the top. Use the remaining frosting to frost the sides, working with a clean, smooth stroke. Serve at once or chill the cake for later serving. Store in the refrigerator.

Combine the cream cheese and butter in a medium bowl with an electric mixer on low speed for about 30 seconds. Stop the machine and add the sugar and drained strawberries. Blend the frosting on low until the sugar has been incorporated. Then raise the speed to medium and mix the frosting another minute or until the frosting lightens and is well combined.

Note: I use one of those chopper gadgets (the one you see advertised chopping onions and nuts) instead of actually mashing the strawberries. Works great.

Saturday, July 18, 2009

I've recently discovered a new way to drink sweet tea. Just add a little FireFly to it.

FireFly Handcrafted Sweet Tea flavored Vodka, that is. It says it's produced and bottled for FireFly Distillery in South Carolina by FireFly Distillery in Florida. Follow that? Anyway, it is actually made in the South if you consider Florida the South. But, if the people running this company were actually from the South, you know it would be called Lightnin' Bug instead!

And don't be fooled by the disappearing act the FireFly does in your tea (meaning you won't taste it in there), this is full strength vodka. Have fun, but be careful!

Thursday, July 16, 2009

I divide the mixture into 4 medium size disposable aluminum loaf pans. Each of 4 pans will hold 2 to 3 servings depending on how much you like to eat as a serving. Freeze unbaked casseroles up to two months. Then thaw casserole overnight in refrigerator. Let stand 30 minutes to an hour at room temperature and bake as directed. You can use the healthier versions of the cream soups and sour cream.

Monday, July 13, 2009

I tried a new recipe last night and it was great! This is one of those easy recipes where you really don't have to measure, although I've written the measurements as I found it in a magazine (I don't remember which one).

I used two really big sweet potatoes, three apples (1 Cameo, 1 Gala, 1 Granny Smith, it's what I had on hand, I chose not to peel) and just drizzled syrup and sprinkled spices until I thought it looked good. I ended up making 2 smaller packets. You really can't mess this one up!

Peel and dice the potatoes into 1-inch cubes. Peel (or not) and dice the apples into 1-inch cubes. Place in a large bowl. Drizzle syrup over potato mixture. Add lemon zest, cinnamon, salt and pepper. Stir to coat all potatoes and apples.

Use heavy duty foil to make packets filled with potato and apple mixture. Leave enough room for steam to build. Grill packet for 25 to 30 minutes.

Sunday, July 12, 2009

We decided to have a tropical dinner out on the deck last night. When I say tropical, that would include anything Hawaiian, Caribbean and Mexican, too. Tropical usually means seafood for me as well. So, we had a little of all that tropical stuff.

We had blackened shrimp, pineapple fried rice and black beans.

For the black beans, I just drain a can of beans, add a couple big spoonfuls of salsa and a sprinkle of cumin. Is that not the authentic Cuban way?? Maybe not, but I like it!

A tropical drink would be great with this meal, too. Have a mojito, margarita or daquiri!

Friday, July 10, 2009

Thursday, July 9, 2009

I promise, this will taste better than it looks. The Panko crumbs are very crispy, they just don't get brown like you would expect. I used Snapper this time (bought it frozen at Publix), but use any fish you like. I've used Tilapia in the past, I think Salmon would be good, too.

Remember, you can find the Hoisin sauce in the Asian section of any grocery store.

Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray; set aside. Stir together mustard and Hoisin sauce. Place bread crumbs in a shallow dish. Brush both sides of fish fillets with mustard mixture. Coat both sides of fish fillets with bread crumbs. Place fillets on baking sheet.

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

The hubby's first comment after seeing the finished sauce: "That looks really hearty." Good to hear about a meatless dish!

This makes enough for 4 to 5 'normal' size servings. What's normal? I don't really know. I just know that we eat two servings the first time I make it. The hubby gets lunch the next day. And enough for a meal for two goes into the freezer. It holds up well in the freezer if you use it within a month or two.

Sauté first 5 ingredients in olive oil until crisp-tender, about 8 to 10 minutes. Add garlic and continue to sauté for about 2 minutes. Add diced tomatoes and pasta sauce. Simmer for about 20 minutes until heated through. Serve with any pasta.

It's just spicy enough for me, not too spicy for those that don't like spicy, might not be spicy enough for those who do.

Turmeric:

1 : an Indian perennial herb (Curcuma longa syn. C. domestica) of the ginger family with a large aromatic yellow rhizome2 : the boiled, dried, and usually ground rhizome of the turmeric plant used as a coloring agent, a flavoring, or a stimulant

Monday, July 6, 2009

I've always wondered about those dishes that we call 'salad', but taste more like dessert. I'm referring mostly to congealed salads (and Aunt Pat's marshmallow salad), but this one fits the category, too. There's at least one at every picnic or potluck I've ever been to. I personally like to eat these as the course that comes between the main meal and dessert, how about you?

Combine first 5 ingredients in medium bowl. Toss and set aside. In a small bowl, combine olive oil and next 3 ingredients. Mix well. Pour over salad and toss until coated. Chill at least one hour before serving.

In small bowl, mix together artichoke hearts, Parmesan cheese, mayonnaise and garlic pepper. Place chicken in a baking dish, and cover each piece evenly with artichoke mixture. Sprinkle a thin layer of bread crumbs on top.

Bake at 375 degrees, uncovered, for 30 minutes or until chicken is done.

Notes:

- I'm sure it would be fine to use garlic powder if you don't have garlic pepper, but I wouldn't recommend garlic salt, the artichoke hearts are already quite salty.

- I almost always pound the chicken breasts between pieces of plastic wrap, they cook more evenly that way.

About Me

I started this blog after being unemployed for almost a year. Then, I decided to go back to school for a completely different career. ‘Playing housewife’ while unemployed and then as a student was been fun, but it’s not what I was meant to be. At this point, I have finished three years in school and two years on the job as a Radiologic Technologist. I'm currently looking for a job again since I have moved to Florida for the hubby's job change. I’ll keep sharing my ‘housewife’ skills when I have time - plenty of cooking, some crafts and a few thrift store finds here and there.